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Another Dash Light Thread.

mad082

By mad082,
in Tutorials / DIY / FAQ

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mad082 Grand Master

mad082

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In the past few weeks I've been fiddling with my r33's dash lights, changing the covers on them, putting in LED's and finally putting new bulbs in.

R33 dash bulbs are standard T-10 park light bulbs. There are 5 that light up the gauges. 2 for the tacho, 2 for the speedo and 1 for the temp gauge (or fuel gauge, whichever is on the far left hand side).

I put blue LEDs in and found it near impossilbe to read the gauges. The numbers show up ok, but the needle is hard to see. Then i tried making it multi-coloured like i had in my last 2 cars.

In the end i just ended up using Phillips Bluevision park light bulbs. They worked great. You get a super white light out of them and you don't need to use any covers. I went from having the dull standard lights, to lights that look like I have a 240v fluro behind the dash. The needle is very easy to read, as it glows bright red. I'd say that this would work as good, if not better than white LEDs as LEDs are a more directional light. I will post a picture tonight of how bright the lights are.

But if your lights are dull, and don't want to bother with making LEDs fit, then this is for you.

post-27937-1148688909.jpg

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QRI05E Mentor

QRI05E

Posted
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Just get EL Dials like I did :) HEAPS nicer and you get looks from every car beside you at night :sweat: many compliments...

post-23753-1148719257.jpg

P.S I used an ultra-bright blue LED to replace the bulb in my boost gauge which matched the cluster

Cheers

QRI05E Mentor

QRI05E

Posted
Posted

Yea they do seem brighter then the stock bulbs...

A standard LED is uni-directional and that’s why you didn’t get a good result… You can use fine grade sand paper and gently sand the surface of the LED to make it opaque which will scatter the light more evenly, giving a larger distribution of light... worth a try

Cheers

mad082 Grand Master

mad082

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yeah...no. not planning on taking the dash out again for a while. done it enough in the past few weeks. the lights look a bit brighter than in the pic. they look like some expensive cars lights. i love it. the needle it bright red all the way to the tip, and the numbers are bright and clear to read.

mad082 Grand Master

mad082

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no problem yet, the temp difference is minimals. the globes that were in there were a silver top bulb, with a cover on them. the covers stop a bit of light. so just taking the covers off made it a little brighter but it was more yellow. the bulbs aren't right up against the dash so i doubt there would be any chance of melting.

d00dz Grand Master

d00dz

Posted
Posted

I see. Dont suppose you have a dimmer switch or something?

My dash lights are dull too and it doesnt have the dimmer switch, was thinking of somehow making one of the dimmer switches and putting some brighter blubs in the dash.

I had those EL dials on my dash for 2 weeks then i got over them and took em out lol

and pulling the whole thing out again was annoying.

MsG_ChRiS Community Regular

MsG_ChRiS

Posted
Posted

i got some el dials off ebay for $90 bucks delivered ... took 30 mins to put them in now my interior looks wicked at night =)

worth the money i reckon ...

the white light is much nicer than the standard light however =)

justin911 Grand Master

justin911

Posted
Posted

ya i heard some ppl had that issue... i use the narva ones and if i recall correctly dezz is using the wide monza ones, but seems to be fine for us though.. u just cant see the last couple of mm on the needle which isnt realy a problem at all..

i just found the blue leds too dark and hard to read (couldn't see the needle very well). i was using narva and monza leds. brand didn't make a difference.
mad082 Grand Master

mad082

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i could just see the needle, i just didn't like it being so dark. i like to be able to just quickly glance down and see what speed i'm doing.

a different colour led would've been better, like green, red, yellow or white. when i've used the blue covers on my other cars i've found them dark also, but all the other colours are fine.

mad082 Grand Master

mad082

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to get the dash out you have to take out the ash tray, then undo some screws behind it. then move the gear stick suround out of the way. then there is a few more screws. then drop the steeringwheel and pop out the dash surround. then you have to undo all the wiring plugs to anything hooked to the surround. then 4 screws to remove the little dash surround (2 up the top that are verticle). then 3 screws to remove the dash. then its just a few plugs and you are done. sounds easy doesn't it... pity its not quite as easy as it sounds. a bit fiddly but not hard.

kezza Proficient

kezza

Posted
Posted

post-14512-1149413742.jpgIf you use a cyclops eye LED 1watt power it will light that mofo like bright as. normal 500ml amp leds run cold...but like someone said they are narrow beam... the cyclops eye led, its very wide view

But it gets hot.. heat sink is a good idea.. and you will only need 2 of them in the main cluster.

This is a dial i tricked up with an cyclops blue LED. 1 led, and it is so damm bright.

but if you cant get hold of those leds, the best shot would be some 16000 MCD bright white leds. dick smith $2.90

but yeah good work on the install, ive had mine in for ages, better lasting that normal ones

kezza Proficient

kezza

Posted
Posted (edited)
Just get EL Dials like I did :D HEAPS nicer and you get looks from every car beside you at night :P many compliments...

post-23753-1148719257.jpg

P.S I used an ultra-bright blue LED to replace the bulb in my boost gauge which matched the cluster

Cheers

my ELs are better bro. lol

post-14512-1149414818.jpg

Edited by kezza
kezza Proficient

kezza

Posted
Posted
Kezza, you got the reverse EL dials... 1st there much cheaper then mine... 2nd there too annoying to look at... unless your tyring to turn your car into the ET Space ship... :D

hahahah nooo not the ET space ship... more like the bridge on the star ship enterprise... thats me! :PBJ:

i dont find them hard to look at tho. :ermm:

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